David Barbe

- -Freshly donated blood is stacked and awaiting to be processed by one of the lab workers at the Community Blood Center on Glendstone. Photo Justin Thorn / Justin Thorn

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After three decades of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy that bans gay and bisexual men from giving blood, the American Medical Association released a statement last month opposing the lifetime ban. More than 220,000 medical students and physicians belong to this organization.

The FDA ban on donations by men who have sex with men has been in place since 1983. It was in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which largely affected gay and bisexuals. At the time, the FDA did not have procedures to test for HIV in donated blood.

That is not the case anymore. David Barbe, chairman of the AMA Board of Trustees and a family physician in Mountain Grove, said that testing procedures at blood banks are thorough, and the chance of tainted blood making it into the blood supply is “extremely low and is lower now than it ever was.”

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 63 percent of new HIV infections occur among men who have sex with men, representing about 2 percent of the population.

But these statistics do not justify banning all gay and bisexual men, said Barbe.

“There are plenty of other groups who have risky behavior,” he said.

Barbe said the FDA ban is “not based on good science,” and therefore “we consider that discriminatory.” Instead of basing the ban on sexual orientation, Barbe said the better question to ask would be how many sexual partners someone has had. Having three or more sexual partners, heterosexual or homosexual, increases the risk for sexually transmitted infections, Barbe said.

“Monogamous sex between two men who have not had sex with any other men is not risky,” he said.

When people donate blood, they are asked a series of questions about health, lifestyle and travel.

Charles Abernathy is the community liaison for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of the Ozarks. Abernathy, who is gay, said he remembers being asked about his sexual relationships while donating blood in high school.

The question read: “From 1977 to the present, have you had sexual contact with another male, even once?”

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Abernathy said he was surprised by the question. He said that the FDA makes “the assumption that all gay and bisexual men have something that would disqualify them from donating blood. Common sense says making that generalization is unfair.”

If a man answers the question untruthfully, it results in a lifetime ban, which is no different than what they face now.

On July 12, gay and bisexual men went to 53 blood donation sites nationally to try to give blood. They expected to be turned away, but showed up anyway.

Abernathy said a few friends traveled to a location in Kansas City to participate and brought with them current HIV tests that were negative. Still, they were rejected.

Abernathy said not only is the current policy singling out gay and bisexual men, it gives the wrong impression of the LGBT community. “This further stigmatizes gay and bisexual men. This is a textbook example of institutionalized discriminatory practices.”

After a News-Leader request for comment on the opposition of the ban by the AMA, the FDA replied by email with this statement: “FDA and HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) continue to reevaluate the scientific basis for its blood donor deferral polices.”

The statement said the FDA’s primary responsibility was patient safety.

In March 2012, the HHS requested information from the FDA in order to design a study to evaluate the ban.

From the HHS request: “The increased effectiveness of donor testing for HIV, HBV (Hepatitis B), syphilis and other infectious agents has greatly enhanced blood safety. As a result, questions have been raised about the need to continue an indefinite deferral of all MSM,” an abbreviation for men who have sex with men.

The FDA said the HHS is reviewing information and has not begun any studies.

In 2010, AABB, America’s Blood Centers and the American Red Cross spoke out against the lifetime referral and suggested a one-year deferral. This means that gay and bisexual men could donate blood if they have not had sex with another man for one year. This is a similar deferral period to other high-risk behaviors such as having sex with a prostitute.

The Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, which belongs to America’s Blood Centers, stands with this proposal, according to Chris Pilgrim,marketing manager.

Medically speaking, a one-year deferral allows sexually transmitted infections to be easily detectible in the bloodstream.

There is a period where some transmitted diseases are not detectable — nine days for HIV, 7.4 days for HCV (hepatitis C) and 30-38 days for HBV. But Abernathy says deferrals still discriminate against gay and bisexual men.

“It’s not your sexual orientation; it’s the behaviors of an individual that puts them at risk for chronic diseases,” he said.

“When you alienate a segment of the community because of those assumptions, it really makes you feel like a second-class citizen.”